The City -- teaching financial literacy

March 19, 2010

Sit and Get Don't Grow Dendrites

This was title was inspired by a workshop that I attended featuring Marsha Tate. Many things were discussed to improved the nature of learning in the classroom. One of these was games. So, I adapted some that I do in class for the teaching of financial literacy.

Title:

Budget Juggle

Subject Area(s):

Finance

This
is an activity used to introduce the benefits of using a budget.

Materials
required:
Each group will need six balls of equal size and six balls of varying sizes.

Here’s how it
works:

Divide students into groups of 8-12 and arrange each group in a circle.

Establish
a pattern of throwing a ball across the circle. Example: Jane to Bill, Bill
to John, John to Jeff, etc. Students need to remember who they are receiving
from and throwing to.

To Play:

T o
begin round 1, students begin a pattern of throwing balls. The teacher
gradually adds balls until three balls of equal size are circulating among
each group. Let students throw the balls until they are familiar with the
established pattern. Stop and collect the balls

Round
2 begins in the same way as round 1, but the teacher continues to add balls
of varying sizes until all 12 balls are being thrown. The teacher can
anticipate chaos with people dropping the balls and balls hitting each other.
Encourage students to try and maintain their established pattern.

Debrief:

If the
balls are an analogy for bill, what can we draw (metaphor)

The balls represent bills. When we follow a budget and know what
money is coming and going, the pattern is smooth. However, if we do not
follow a budget, big bills and little unexpected bills, sometimes hit us in
the face and can run our lives amuck.

Additional probable connections
students will make: Each round is like one month. Some months are smooth and
other months, it is hard to make ends meet. Example: Balls that collide can
represent a car accident or unexpected doctor bills. Students are great at
making their own connections with the analogy.

Life is full of obstacles. Some people allow obstacles to prevent
them from succeeding. Others keep running into the obstacles. What are
the obstacles in your life that you must recognize and then avoid or plan
for?

We go
through life trying to avoid obstacles. But, what do you do when
encounter a financial obstacle, how do you deal with it? Is it difficult to accept help?
(why/why not).